The present invention relates to a disintegrating projectile for cartridged maneuver ammunition for an automatic weapon in which the projectile incudes a thin-walled and closed body of plastic-like material having a cup-shaped bottom section and a main section connected therewith. The main section includes a circularly cylindrical section which changes into a tapering hollow tip in its frontal region and tightly encloses a given number of axially successively arranged, rotationally symmetrical pressed bodies of metal powder. A rotationally symmetrical stiffening insert made of plastic is disposed in the frontal region of the main section, is composed of two cup sections each open at one end, and presents a circular disc member oriented transverse to the longitudinal axis of the projectile. The rear face of the circular disc and the inner face of the side wall of one of the cup sections are in immediate contact with one of the bodies of pressed metal powder.
A disintegrating projectile of this type is disclosed in German Patent No. 1,239,961. The stiffening insert is composed of two thin-walled, unilaterally closed circular cylinders, with the inner diameter of the one cylinder being adapted to the outer diameter of the other so that the one cylinder can be placed in the other. A circularly cylindrical space of this type, closed on all sides, contains a pressed body of metal powder. The circular disc shaped bottoms are provided with radial recesses as desired break points.
The prior art disintegrating projectile is sufficiently resistant to the transverse forces generated during introduction (for example in a box for ammunition belts or in a belt supplier). However, in a weapon having a wedge-type breech block and two axially displaceable ejectors in the region of the chamber, malfunctions occur as the result of insertion conditions: namely, if the cartridge axis is flush with the bore axis during insertion of the cartridge, the gripper member of the rammer will be unable to push it to introduce it into the gun barrel, and carry it along precisely in the center, i.e. in extension of its longitudinal axis, because this would involve the danger of inadvertent ignition of the propellant charge. If, however, the gripper engages the bottom of the propellant charge casing anywhere other than in the center, the cartridge tends to break out of the axial direction. With the high insertion velocity involved, this has the result that the ogival face of the projectile tip would hit one side of the rear wall region of the chamber. However, in the prior art automatic weapon, one of the two ejectors (for ejection of an empty propellant charge casing from the chamber) is disposed in that region.
With live ammunition, the projectile is sufficiently resistant and insensitive in the respective region of the ogival face; it slides along the claw of the ejector which projects toward the bore axis so that it does not impede the insertion process. Once the cartridge has been inserted and the ejector has performed a forward movement, the respective ejector claw lies against the frontal face of the bottom of the propellant charge casing.
When maneuver cartridges holding a disintegrating projectile of the type referred to above are fired, contact by the ejector claw in the region of the thin plastic casing in the ogival region can cause a break in the projectile body. The claw may hook itself in the projectile body and consequently the ejector will not come to lie behind the bottom of the propellant charge casing but will instead be prematurely carried along by the damaged projectile body, interrupting the insertion process and thus leading to malfunction of the weapon. If the claw does not hook into the projectile body but rather tears the projectile body then slides off of it, a piece of the projectile body may be torn off on one side and be pulled backward so that it increases the diameter of the projectile in that region by the thickness of the body wall. Although this need not always result in an immediate malfunction of the weapon, metal powder may escape from the leak and may cause considerable wear of the gun barrel and thus result in premature inoperability of the weapon.